tonya66

Laura, you must share your story! We all need the inspiration from Bandsters like you! Especially the new ones, and the ones struggling. Please share!

Bfast - 6 oz protein shake made with skim milk Lunch - had 2 chips with a little queso on it, had a taco salad about 1/4 of it made with fahitta chicken and had about 1/2 cup of quacomole on it. Did not eat it all, brought the majority of it home. DH will eat it tonight Snack - Low Carb Yogurt with 2 tsp of granola mixed in (9 grms of protein) Dinner - 7 low fat wheat thins with hummus (too many) snack - about 4 pieces thru the day of Dove SF chocolate - too many Exercise - NONE, I'm so mad at myself Water - about 45 oz - grrrr, I must get to 64 oz. Supplements - 1 Viactiv multi-Vitamin, Liquid B-12 complex Notes - Not really a good day today, I felt more hungry than previous days. I think I'm losing my restriction. I dealt with head hunger too. I was constantly looking for something to put in my mouth and I really had to watch myself. I am at the end of TOM, so not sure if that had anything to do with it. For the heck of it, I stepped on the scales (which I said I wasn't going to do) and I'm up 2 lbs (208.2). I'm not really worried about it, I figured my weight would go up some eating solid foods again, I hope it starts going back down soon. I am mad at myself for not getting out of bed this AM to exercise. Thats what I am focussed on this week - I want to get back into the habit of exercising, and it is so hard!

Bfast - 6 oz protein shake made with skim milk Lunch - had 2 chips with a little queso on it, had a taco salad about 1/4 of it made with fahitta chicken and had about 1/2 cup of quacomole on it. Did not eat it all, brought the majority of it home. DH will eat it tonight Snack - Low Carb Yogurt with 2 tsp of granola mixed in (9 grms of protein) Dinner - 7 low fat wheat thins with hummus (too many) snack - about 4 pieces thru the day of Dove SF chocolate - too many Exercise - NONE, I'm so mad at myself Water - about 45 oz - grrrr, I must get to 64 oz. Supplements - 1 Viactiv multi-Vitamin, Liquid B-12 complex Notes - Not really a good day today, I felt more hungry than previous days. I think I'm losing my restriction. I dealt with head hunger too. I was constantly looking for something to put in my mouth and I really had to watch myself. I am at the end of TOM, so not sure if that had anything to do with it. For the heck of it, I stepped on the scales (which I said I wasn't going to do) and I'm up 2 lbs (208.2). I'm not really worried about it, I figured my weight would go up some eating solid foods again, I hope it starts going back down soon. I am mad at myself for not getting out of bed this AM to exercise. Thats what I am focussed on this week - I want to get back into the habit of exercising, and it is so hard!

Sherilynn - I actually gained my 2nd-3rd week, I think from switching from liquids to mushy foods. Having no restriction would definately be hard to lose weight. You will be going thru what they call Bandster Hell until you get your fill. So, you have right idea with sticking to proteins first. I notice for me personally, I don't lose for a week and then suddenly drop 3 or 4 lbs overnight. Then I go thru the same process. I think your body is getting used to the new you, the new eating, etc. And I think it also goes into that starvation mode. I guess my question is or what I'm wondering is, I can only eat 1/2 cup of food, so I'm only getting around 500 or maybe 600 calories a day. No matter what I do. Will this keep me in starvation mode, will I stop losing if I don't get my calories up to 1000? I really don't feel like I'm tight, no food getting stuck, I can now take big gulps of water, I eat normal bite size and I chew. But I still get full after 1/2 cup of food. Its just weird. I would think that I would be getting stuck. Although last night, I was eating my salmon, and I took a bigger bite then normal, it didn't get stuck, but I could feel it squeeze thru the band, it was a little painful. It reminded me to take smaller bites. I keep thinking any day now I will get that raging hunger, but so far nothing and I will be 5 weeks in a few days. I guess I should be grateful for the full feeling and not worry about it. What do you guys think? Should I get a fill? I'm getting hungry at about 2 to 3 hours after eating, and I eat but only 1/2 cup of food. I go get my blood work tomorrow and my appointment with the doc is 3/1 to discuss my fill.

Dee - I think the Western Caribbean is my favorite. We are going to the Western Caribbean too in August. My DH likes Carnival better than Royal, mainly he likes all the midnight buffet Carnival has - he never gains weight, so he eats all the time! So, we're going on Carnival's Conquest which was built in 2005, so its pretty new. I hear it is a gorgeous ship and huge. I been on Royal about 3 times, and Norweigan twice, I like all cruises, no matter what line. LOL. I have never stepped foot in the gym while on a cruise, but I plan to this year! So hopefully I won't gain while on the cruise - this will be a first for me. Amelia40 - CONGRATS on your NSV! When others can tell, it is so rewarding, especially when they tell you how good you look. Have a good day everyone!

This is good information to know, I am going on a cruise 8/05 - I go on them all the time too, usually 1 time per year at least. I've already got one booked for 2008 too! Anyhow, I will make sure I don't get a fill right before my cruise! The cruise doctors are not the equiped and THEY ARE VERY EXPENSIVE. I got sick one time and had to go get some meds, $200 later (just for a visit) I got some medicine. Have fun on your cruise. I'll want to hear all about it, so make sure you come back and tell us how your band did on the cruise. Also, how you enjoyed it with the band. I'm worried the cruise won't be as appealing to me now that I have the band, because a lot of the fun on the cruise for me was eating, and eating, and eating. I got dessert with every meal! I usually gain 10 lbs on a cruise! Where are you guys going? What cruise line? I had a good workout tonight on the treadmill, I think I'm finally over my pain with the treadmill and I am 4 1/2 week post op. I still can't lift weights, but will be able to in a couple more weeks I think. Well, I'm headed to put on my PJ's crawl in bed with a good book and have some major R&R. night everyone.

Congratulatoins

Oh yes, your bringing SEXY back! You Go Girl!

Thanks guys! I am loving the new me!

Last night, I'm sitting on my couch, just relaxing. Without thinking I crossed my legg, after I did it, I realized, I can cross my leggs now, comfortablly! Wow!:clap2: Its another NSV for me. I hadn't tried in so long to cross them, or I could cross them and it cut the breath out of me. But now, I feel so feminane when I can cross my leggs. I just had to journal this down.

I keep my menu in my journal on this forum. You can find my link at the bottom of the page. A typical day for me Bfast 1 poached egg or malt o meal or Protein shake for bfast lunch Today was chicken salad (about 1/2 cup), 2 bites of lettuce dinner Will probably be leftover fish from last night and a spoonful fo sweet potatoes. I try and choose lean protein, and a few bites of veggies. I stay away from carbs.

What they will probably do is an Upper GI to see what might be causing they reflux. Mine was a hiatal hernia, Esophogitus, and my stomach was in the wrong place. They repaird all this during my lap-band surgery and for the first time in YEARS, I have no reflux!!!! I was headed toward Esophogus cancer, but now I have a chance! Thanks to the band and my doc for fixing everything!

I cannot turn down my precious niece - so yes, I bought 6 boxes.....I used to by around 15! But the prices have gone up to $4.00 so my orders have dropped. I did get the Low Fat Brownies as one of my boxes....

I would copy what you told us, and send it to the surgeon. And FIRE HIM. Let him know because of this, you will be finding a new Surgeon! He is the one losing money and he won't like it! (Their greedy). I'm so sorry you had to go thru all this, I always hate hearing stories like this because my ordeal was so fast & smooth, but I know a lot of people have horror stories. Keep us updated on how it goes.....

Support is so important. Just because you Can eat everything, does not mean you should. That is where the support comes in. Without support, WE ALL would eat whatever we want. YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE, The great thing about the band is, it is there waiting on you, so why don't you perhaps join a local Yahoo group? I'm not sure where you live, but if you go out to Yahoo.com, look under groups and see if there is a Bandster group in your area. If not, I bet you could start one at the times that will work for you. Another thing, this forum is a GREAT support group. So, here is what you do - You dust your bottom off, you walk into the doctors office with your head held high, and you get yourself a fill. There is an excellent book, "Weight Loss for Dummies" that might be benificial for you, it talks about falling off the wagon and how to get back on track. You PAID for the surgery, and you deserve fills when needed, so don't be intimidated by the doc, demand a fill. Then, you get rid of the junk, get it out of sight, Its not too late and I know you can do it. On the bright side, YOU HAVE LOST 15 POUNDS! So, you can lose more! Depression leads to overeating, and I have done the same thing! I've ordered a whole pie and eaten the entire thing! We've all been there, you need to know you are not alone. The first step in getting back on track is getting your mind right. You have to get the "I am a failure" thoughts out of your head, you are not a failure. Be determined to get back on track, I find that when I read books (I'm reading Lap band for life by Dr. Ortiz right now), it helps me stay motivated. Its hard to stay motivated, it takes work. But if you are determined, and I know you want to, after all, you bared your feeling on this forum, you can do it. Its not too late! I know some Gastric Bypass who has lost, but gained all their weight back too. So it doesn't matter which WLS you do, there has to be some accountability. Thats where you come in, make it a priority, you DESERVE it! Put yourself first! Realize you are a beautiful woman, inside and out, and you deserve to take control of yourself! I wish you the best.

LOL - Thanks for including the OSU fan. I think the best thing about the band is - it will guide you and help you maintain. I think it will tell you, "Neal, you've eaten too much", etc. So, it will still be work maintaining, and your right, it will be the hardest part. But YOU CAN DO IT!

Thanks Joanne & Enterprise. I have a long way to go, but 40 lbs does make a difference in the apperance, and mainly the way I feel about myself. My before picture was my all time high, I was so depressed, didn't do anything with myself, and as the weight comes off, I'm so much happier, everyone around me can see how much happier I am too. I know its a long road to get to where I want to be, but, I know I will get there - someday!

Neal, Your a great inspiration (even if you are an OU fan and not an OSU Cowboy fan), you have done great (even if you are OU fan), and I really admire your determination and your focuss (even if you are an OU fan). I know that you have followed the Banding rules to a "T" and it shows with your tremendous success. I am amazed at what you accomplished in LESS than year (even if you are an OU fan). You show the statistics that Lab-Band patients only lose 50-60% of their excess weight to be false! I hope you know I'm just giving you are hard time about being an OU fan, lol. I'm a huge OSU fan, and OU is our rivals. Congratulations again, and let me say, Well Done!

I always measure my food out, 1/2 cup, no more. This keeps me from overeating. If I don't measure, I tend to overeat.

So glad your doing better Bandida - now we just have to get Sheila feeling 100% better.

I'm now focussing on what I can accomplish durring my 2nd month with the band. I am focussing more on EXERCISE and not weight loss durring this month. So, with that said, I am staying off the scales! The scales are a serious weakness for me, But I'm trying to get my mind right and just stay off of them for awhile. What I really want to focuss on is exercise. I was to get up this AM to exercise, however, I forgor that my daughter has flute lessons tonight, and so on Mondays, I'll be exercising in the evening time. That way I can drop her off at flute lessons, go exercise, then come back to get her, it works out better. My menu today Bfast SF Yogurt with 2 TBSP of granola Lunck 2 oz of salmon sweet potatoe Dinner salmon - 2 oz sweet potatoe - about 2 TSP 1/2 of the inside of egg roll Workout - 30 min on Treadmill, at 2.9 mph, 2.5% incline, 1.43 miles. GOALS FOR THE WEEK Take my viatimin everyday workout 30 min 5 x's Drink my 64 oz of water everyday.

I'm now focussing on what I can accomplish durring my 2nd month with the band. I am focussing more on EXERCISE and not weight loss durring this month. So, with that said, I am staying off the scales! The scales are a serious weakness for me, But I'm trying to get my mind right and just stay off of them for awhile. What I really want to focuss on is exercise. I was to get up this AM to exercise, however, I forgor that my daughter has flute lessons tonight, and so on Mondays, I'll be exercising in the evening time. That way I can drop her off at flute lessons, go exercise, then come back to get her, it works out better. My menu today Bfast SF Yogurt with 2 TBSP of granola Lunck 2 oz of salmon sweet potatoe Dinner salmon - 2 oz sweet potatoe - about 2 TSP 1/2 of the inside of egg roll Workout - 30 min on Treadmill, at 2.9 mph, 2.5% incline, 1.43 miles. GOALS FOR THE WEEK Take my viatimin everyday workout 30 min 5 x's Drink my 64 oz of water everyday.

Sue - I am sorry, I don't know anything about glittermaker. I think its neat, but I don't know how to add it to the signature - sorry. Yes, we are band twins! Thanks for the compliment.

I call mine bandalicious - don't know how that came about, but my DH calls it that too. I think he might have even started it.

I am not sure how much they will put in for the first fill, all doctors are different, some more aggressive and others are not. I have the 10cm band, which holds 4cc's. So we have the same band. My doctor says he prefers this band because the weight loss is faster. I know others prefer the VG band because there is such a broader range of fills and I hear them say they don't have near the problem with PBing as with the other band. So, I really don't know which band is better, I guess they do the same thing. I just don't understand the feelings I have with the band. I can eat anything, I had steak Saturday night (dh & I had a date night), however, I can only eat 4 or 5 tiny bites and I'm done. I never feel like I have come to get stuck - I have no problem eating, just can't eat very much. Some days I'm hungry 2 hours later, some days (like today) I was hungry 7 hours later. So I don't know if I need a fill or not? I'm loosing weight, I'm loosing around 5 lbs a week right now, 2 weeks ago I stalled for one week, went up 1 lb, and since then, I'm losing pretty fast. Even faster now than I was with all Clear liquids - weird. I still fight the naucious feeling after I eat, I guess my body is trying to get used to real food. Well, I'm headed to bed, night night everyone.:notagree